WHITE HOUSE: The US Is Not Giving Information To Assad

U.S. President Barack
Obama delivers a statement from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts,
during his vacation August 20, 2014.REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The White House categorically denied a report saying it was
sharing information with the regime of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad about the extremist group the Islamic State (also ISIS
or ISIL) on Tuesday. Furthermore, the White House said it had no
plans to coordinate whatsoever with the Syrian government in the
ongoing fight against the group.

The AFP reported on Tuesday that the U.S. was
"sharing intelligence about jihadist deployments with
Damascus through Iraqi and Russian channels." AFP's report came
just as White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters
aboard Air Force One that the U.S. does not recognize the Assad
regime and had "no plans" to coordinate with them in regards to
any campaign against ISIS.

"As a matter of US policy, we have not recognized" Assad as the
leader in Syria, Earnest said, according to a transcript. "There
are no plans to change that policy and there are no plans to
coordinate with the Assad regime."

When asked if Earnest's comments also represented a denial of the
AFP report, White House National Security Council spokesperson
Caitlin Hayden said it did.

President Barack Obama has reportedly given the go-ahead for the
U.S. military to begin surveillance flights in Syria to gather
intelligence on ISIS. The intelligence-gathering could be a
prelude for potential strikes on the group in Syria. The U.S. has
already launched airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and
multiple administration and military officials have
publicly suggested any campaign to confront the group
would need to be expanded into Syria.

Earnest said Obama has not made a decision about whether to
strike ISIS in Syria.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid
Muallem said Monday the country was open to working with the
international community against ISIS, however, he said the Syrian
government would need to be notified. Some observers and analysts
have accused Assad of
facilitating ISIS' rise during the three-plus-year
civil war in Syria, using their rapid gains as a ploy to present
himself as the better of two options.

On Tuesday, Earnest said the
situation was different today than one year ago, when the Obama
administration pushed Congress to approve targeted strikes on
Assad regime targets.

"The goal of the mission from last year was aimed squarely at the
Assad regime. ... The situation a year later is markedly
different," Earnest said.